Indian electric scooter maker Ather Energy Pvt has acquired HSBC Holdings Plc, Nomura Holdings Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. selected to help arrange the initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Bengaluru-based company also has local banks including JM Financial Ltd. and Axis Bank Ltd., selected for the initial share sale, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. An IPO could take place in Mumbai as early as the second half of the year, depending on market conditions, the people said, adding that more banks could come on board.
Representatives of the five banks, as well as Ather, declined to comment.
Ather has selected banks for a stock market listing that could value it at about $2 billion, Bloomberg News reported in February. The company could try to raise as much as $400 million in a stock sale, although details such as size and value could change, people familiar with the situation said.
Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain founded Ather in 2013 after graduating from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. The company raised about $128 million in a Series E round in 2022, including from the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd. and existing shareholders such as two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp Ltd.
Other backers include Flipkart co-founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, as well as Tiger Global Management.
First print: March 5, 2024 | 11:32 am IST